Case study: Fisheries in Vietnam

Marine, inland and aquaculture fishing

Major fishing areas
Gulf of Tonkin
China

Central Vietnam
Southeast Vietnam
Southwestern Vietnam
Cambodia, Thailand

Importance to Economy
Vietnamese fisheries have been growing
considerably and have been promoted by the
government

Aimed at hunger elimination and poverty reduction,

and to increase personal income

The fishing sector provides about half of the annual

supply of animal protein in the national human diet
Nearly 10% of the population derives its main
income from fisheries
Accounts for 4% of GDP
Over 10% of the total export earnings

Problem of Illegal Fishing

Big foreign boats often penetrate into Vietnamese
seawaters to fish illegally
300-500 calls of foreign boats fishing illegally in
Vietnamese seawaters every year
They are active off shore at day time and near shore
at night time
The quantity of marine catches taken by foreign
fishing boats is significant

Vietnamese Fishing Fleet

The total fleet consists of approximately 40,000
vessels, almost all of them made of wood
Only about 100 vessels have the capacity for
deep-sea fishing
Main species (English names): Bream, scad,
lizard fish, tuna, bigeye, croaker, snapper,
trevally

Fishing Economics
Most fishing communities are poor
As opportunities of other sources of income are
quite limited, labor migration to other areas is
common
Including work on foreign fishing fleets, including
Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese fleets
The development of the seafood processing
industry is attracting many people, mainly women
(85%), to come and work in the cities

Aquaculture in Vietnam
Catfish, tilapia, carp, prawn, shrimp, lobster,
crab, grouper, snapper, cobia, sea bass
Small but growing sector of fishing economy

Exports
Seafood is the third major export product of
Vietnam (after textile-garments and crude oil)
Exports to 80 different countries; export
markets for fishery products:
USA (35%), Japan (26%), China/Hong Kong (7%)
and Europe (6%)

Main export products

Shrimp, fish, squid, cuttlefish and octopus, and
dried sea fish products
Among export products, frozen shrimp is the
highest earner, pulling 40% of the total revenue

Overfishing
About 25% of fishing vessels are equipped for
offshore fishing operations
To reduce inshore overfishing the government
aims to encourage fishermen to fish further
offshore where fish stocks are larger
Currently most of Vietnams marine catch is
taken in waters less than 60m deep and is
considered a major cause of coastal overfishing.

Looking to the future

Most Vietnamese fishing is in the private sector
To encourage fishermen to use larger fishing vessels
that are better equipped for offshore fishing, the
government has started to offer subsidies of about
US$3,500 a year for fishermen buying new boats
fitted with an engine larger than 90hp.
Goal: Development of offshore fishing fleet into
major form of economic activity